Julie Soriero joined MIT as an Associate Professor and the Department Head and Director of Athletics, Physical Education and Recreation (DAPER) in July of 2007 and enters her 11th year in 2017-18. She directs a department that supports one of the most comprehensive athletic programs in the country featuring 33 intercollegiate teams, including a Division I rowing program that has its women competing in the Patriot League. A noted speaker, Soriero has presented at the NACDA and NCAA conventions as well as Women Leaders in College Sports (formerly the National Association of Collegiate Women Athletic Administrators - NACWAA), the Women’s Coaches Academy and the NCAA-sponsored Women’s Leadership Symposiums. Most recently, she was honored as the recipient of the NCAA President's Pat Summitt Award at the 2018 NCAA Convention in Indianapolis, which recognizes an individual in the Association's membership who has demonstrated devotion to development of student-athletes and has made a positive impact on their lives.

Since arriving at MIT, Soriero has been directly involved in the fundraising and construction of a number of capital facilities projects. In 2015-16, she fundraised approximately $7 million dollars for the complete renovation of the Steinbrenner Stadium grandstands, the track and field facility and the baseball and softball fields. Those newly-renovated facilities were all dedicated during the 2016-17 academic year and provide MIT student-athletes and the campus community with some of the top playing and practice surfaces in the region. Also during her tenure, she has fundraised for four head coaching endowments ($2 million) and two director-level endowments ($2.5 million), along with completing two coaching endowments that were initiated prior to her arrival.

Under her leadership, MIT has become one of the top NCAA Division III programs in the country, rising to No. 1 in the nation in the Learfield Directors’ Cup standings after the 2014 fall season and finishing 2014-15 in the No. 3 position in the Cup standings, the highest finish in school history. After last year’s 11th-place finish, MIT has now placed in the top-10 in four of the last five years. Through the 2017 fall Learfield Directors’ Cup standings, MIT is currently ranked No. 2 in the nation as the Engineers captured five league titles and had three teams advance to the final 16 of the NCAA Tournament. In addition, the MIT women’s cross country team earned a No. 4 finish at the NCAA Division III National Championship.

MIT has led the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) in championships in each of the last five years, winning at least eight during each of those seasons. In 2016-17, MIT had 14 teams represented at NCAA Championships, including five teams that finished in the top 10 overall. In 2013, MIT won the inaugural NEWMAC President’s Cup for both the men’s and women’s programs, symbolic of the top overall programs in the country. The Engineers repeated that feat in 2015-16 and 2016-17, along with another men’s President’s Cup in 2013-14 and a women’s President’s Cup in 2014-15. In 2014, the football team garnered national attention with the program’s first New England Football Conference title as the Engineers advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Over the last five years, Soriero has helped build the MIT program into a national power as the teams have averaged nearly 10 conference championships, 90 All-Americans and 13 Academic All-Americans a season in that span. In 2016, former standout swimmer Margaret Guo `16 earned the prestigious NCAA Woman of the Year Award, which is one of the top honors awarded by the NCAA each year. In 2016-17, the Engineers had 21 student-athletes earned CoSIDA Academic All-America honors, which is the all-time single-season national record for all divisions.

Prior to her appointment as Director at MIT, Soriero served at Colorado College for nine years, four of which were as Director of Athletics. At Colorado College, Soriero saw two of her teams (Men’s Ice Hockey - NCAA Division I and Women’s Lacrosse - NCAA Division III) reach their respective Final Fours in the same year. Prior to her appointment as Director there she served as the Interim Director of Athletics concurrently with various other roles such as Head Women's Basketball Coach, Director of Events, Senior Woman Administrator and Senior Associate Athletic Director. Before Colorado College, Soriero held the Head Women’s Basketball Coach position at the University of Pennsylvania for 10 years. She also coached and served as the Associate Director of Athletics at Philadelphia University and began her collegiate coaching career at Haverford College, founding the Division III program there in 1980. In all, she coached for 21 years before dedicating herself to full-time administrative work.

During Soriero's career she has served on multiple national and local boards and committees. She is currently serving as the president of Women Leaders in College Sports, and has served as a member of the Olympic Sports Committee and chaired the Committee on Women’s Athletics. She previously was elected to serve on the NCAA Division III Management Council, Women Leaders in College Sports Board of Directors, chaired the Women Leaders in College Sports Awards Committee, and served as the West Regional Representative to the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) Executive Committee. She also completed a term of service with the NCAA Women’s Basketball Rules Committee.

Soriero, who has received numerous honors during her distinguished career, was named a 2014-15 Division III Under Armour Athletics Director of the Year recipient by NACDA. She has also been honored as the 2012 Division III Administrator of the Year by Women Leaders in College sports (formerly NACWAA). As a coach, she was recognized by the American Women’s Sports Foundation as the Northeast Regional Coach of the Year, was an All-American coach for three consecutive seasons and was twice named the Philadelphia Big Five Coach of the Year during her time at the University of Pennsylvania.

While at what is now Philadelphia University, her teams made a number of post-season appearances including advancing to the NCAA Division II Final Four in 1986. In 2014, she was elected to the Philadelphia University Athletics Hall of Fame and was also elected to The New Agenda: Northeast Women’s Hall of Fame in 2015. As an administrator, Soriero was nominated for the "Sportswoman of Colorado" award, and named one of “Philadelphia's 40 Defining Women”.

Originally from New Hope, Pa., near Philadelphia, Soriero began her career in athletics after receiving her Bachelor of Science degree in Health and Physical Education from the Pennsylvania State University. She later earned her Master of Education degree in Sports Psychology from Temple University.